


Five days at Five

by Inphinity



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: <3, Charity has to deal with too many things already please save her, Childhood Trauma, Crying, Cutesy, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, I wrote this for my favourite human, P. T. Barnum Needs a Hug, Phillip needs al the hugs., This is one of the more obscure things I've worked on, This week on: Phillip learns what the heck a child is, Toddler Barnum, You know who you are ;)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-04-30 17:32:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14502009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inphinity/pseuds/Inphinity
Summary: After disrespecting an auditioning act, P.T. is promised regret.Regret is certainly what he receives.Forced to spend a week in entirely unhelpful circumstances, Barnum starts to learn how his childish behaviour affects other people.Will he learn his lesson and releive himself of this small problem? The circus can only hope.





	1. Not a frog, a lesson.

**Author's Note:**

> (Hey dudes! Sorry I havn't updated in a little while, I keep getting distracted making GIFs instead of writing.
> 
> This is a little fic inspired by my friend <3  
> It's a little goofy and kinda different from a lot of the thing's I've written so far but it should be pretty darn adorable and funny if all goes to plan.
> 
> I wrote this chapter at 6am so please forgive me if it's not my very best work.
> 
> And please leave some comments to tell me what you think!!! <3 I get so inspired to write more whenever you guys leave a comment.
> 
> Enjoy~
> 
> Chpt 1 Word Count: 2629  
> TW: None

Dusk had fallen into night as the last few acts were lined up for auditions. It had been a long day watching them all, the two men just couldn’t agree on what worked and what didn’t. They needed a new act by Friday, they couldn’t afford to be this impatient.

Phillip yawned as he leaned against the side of his chair, mumbling an apology to the chicken juggler as she stormed out of the ring in a huff. “P.T. she was good enough, please I just want to go home at this point.”

“She dropped the chickens twice. How can you think that was okay but the green skinned man wasn’t?” Phin returned gruffly, crossing his arms as he half heartedly waved his hand to call the next act into the ring.

“It was CLEARLY make-up!”

“A-HEM.”

They attention was snapped back to the new act in the ring at the irritated declaration. There stood a tall, pasty man in a dark velvet cloak. They both sighed.

“Lemmi guess. A magician?” Barnum asked sarcastically, sinking down in his chair. Phil nudged him with his elbow in a silent ‘don’t be rude’ gesture.

The man narrowed his eyes.

“The very best. I’d ask you not to mock my skills, Mr Barnum. I am a very powerful man.”

The older man snorted out a tired laugh, leaning back in his chair and waving a hand. “I’m sure you are, I’m sure you are.” He muttered half apologetically. “Come on then, it’s getting late. Show us your hocus-pokus.”

“P.T. Don’t be rude.” Phillip hissed, turning to smile at the man. “Please ignore my partner, go ahead sir.”

“I don’t believe I should HAVE to ignore Mr Barnum’s childish behaviour. I shall be respected in your presence.” The cloaked figure spat rudely, flexing one hand in irritation. “Either he apologizes immediately, or he’ll regret acting like a five year old.”  
Phin let out a small snort and leaned forwards, lifting his eyebrows. “Fine, fine. I’m sorry.” He remarked sarcastically. “Don’t go putting a spell on me to turn me into a frog now, will you?”

“P.T!” Phillip argued in defeat, turning to apologize to the man once again but this time just catching his cloak as he marched out of the ring towards the doors.

Before he vanished completely, Phillip was sure he heard the man mumble a bitter “Not a frog. A lesson.”

The older man chuckled, leaning back in his seat once more and waving in the next person. “Magic. A lot of humbug if you ask me.”

“Isn’t that what this whole show is about? Barnum humbug?” The younger retorted softly, picking up his glass of water to take a sip. “You shouldn’t have been rude to the guy.”

“Don’t tell me you believe in all that nonsense, Flip? You don’t really think I’m gonna get cursed by the boogie man.” He chuckled, nudging the other man with his elbow.

Phillip only frowned, rolling his eyes and turning to greet the next guest.

\--

Phineas woke up with a small grunt. His head had been aching since getting home and sleep had eluded him for longer than he would have liked. The sound of Charity’s soft breathing next to him had finally knocked him out, but once again the pain in his head had jolted him awake. Something felt very wrong and he couldn’t put his finger on what. He hoped he wasn’t getting sick, they’d missed a whole day of practise to run the auditions and it was vital he got back to business tomorrow.

Sitting up woozily, the man squinted at the dark of the room. Everything felt a little too big in the shadows. His clothes felt loose. He supposed he hadn’t touched his dinner last night due to the headaches.

Slowly he scooted to the edge of the bed to stand up.

Then suddenly fell. Landing on his face with a clunk.

Why was the ground so far away? Ouch his face hurt, he let out a pained groan. Wait why did it sound so high pitched?

“Phineas?” came a concerned murmur from the bed as Charity sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Chairy-“ he stopped in surprise when his voice came out so soft and small, like a child’s.

The woman peered over the side of the bed to look at him.

She screamed.

\--

“MOMMY MOMMY!” Helen shrieked as she came barrelling down the hallway towards their room, worry lacing her voice. Another pair of footsteps crashed down the hallway just after hers which were unmistakably Caroline’s.

Charity managed to stop screaming, shuffling back in bed in shock, eyes never leaving the small boy on her bedroom floor.

Phin was terrified. He hadn’t heard his wife scream like that since the fire. He felt sick and dizzy and everything felt huge. Something was wrong. Something was wrong. Tears prickled at his eyes and he wasn’t sure why, he forced them down and tried to get to his feet to comfort his wife. He got trapped in his own shirt and fell back down clumsily, letting out a small noise of distress as he tried to escape.

The door crashed open as the two girls tumbled in, scrambling into bed with their shocked mother and clinging onto her.

“Mommy why did you scream? Are you okay? Are you-“ Helen was cut off as her older sister met eyes with their father and suddenly screamed too.

“DON’T SCREAM, WHU’EVER IT IS I’LL FIX IT!” Phin cried out in distress, haunted by the fear in his daughter’s outburst. His voice came out so strange and when he tried to rush to her he got trapped once again in his own shirt, which now felt like a suffocating blanket.

His eyes flicked to his hands in confusion, looking for some kind of answer. When he saw them, it was his turn to scream.

\--

Things had taken a while to calm down after that. After lighting every candle she could find to light up the house, Charity begun heating milk on the stove to make hot chocolate to calm the girls and also the small child she woke up to find on her bedroom floor.

Helen and Caroline had helped the toddler to the sitting room, since he was rather tangled in their fathers night shirt. They got him sitting on the sofa and immediately began bombarding the poor child with questions.

“Are you our new brother? Did mommy give birth to you in her sleep?”

“Helen it doesn’t work like that, people don’t give birth to toddlers. They give birth to babies.”

“Maybe he was stuck for a really long time.”

Phin pressed his hands to his eyes exhaustedly and tried to ground himself. This must be some horrible nightmare. He was going to wake up, any second now.

“Where’s daddy?” Helen suddenly asked, the worry in the young girls voice being enough to drag the man from his own shock.

“He’s here. I’m here. It’s me, I’m your father! I don’t know what’s going on.” He burst out, smoothing a hand back through his messy hair nervously. “I don’t know why I look like this bu’ it’s me!”

“You’re not daddy. You’re a little kid.” Caroline declared bluntly, looking quite offended at his declaration.

“I don’t know, Caroline. He does sorta look like Daddy.” Helen argued softly, eyes switching from her sister to curiously watch the little boy. “If you’re really daddy, say something that only daddy would know.”

“Helen-“ her sister tried to argue before suddenly being cut off.

“Your favourite doll is called Bunlan-Zoe and she’s your favourite because she likes to get up on the table and dance during tea parties. Both of you were scared of the closet monster I made up called the Bugglekook for two years and your mother made me sleep on the sofa for a month because you insisted on sleeping in our bed and she was fed up with me for scaring you. I keep chocolate bars taped to the inside of my hat so I can treat you both to secret sweets when your mother falls asleep on long carriage rides. Caroline, one time I picked you up from ballet an hour late because I lost track of time and in your anger you called me a ‘disappointing soggy peanut’ and I thought it was so funny that I couldn’t stop laughing and you wouldn’t speak to me for three days.” The boy burst out breathlessly, his eyes showing just how desperate he was for them to understand.  
“Girls. It’s ME.”

Caroline’s jaw dropped while Helen’s face broke into a grin. “DADDY!” she squeaked, pushing forwards to hug onto the boy.

“Okay but….why are you so small?” Caroline asked softly, still looking so unsure. Phin couldn’t help in that moment than to think just how much she took after Charity.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. I just woke up like this.” He mumbled cautiously, wrapping his arms back around Helen and feeling unnerved by how much bigger than him she felt right now.

“Maybe a wizard did it. In the book I’m reading there’s an evil wizard who turns people into rocks. Maybe an evil wizard came to turn you into a baby instead, daddy.” The younger girl offered politely, releasing the boy from her hold and shuffling onto the sofa next to him.

“Helen I don’t think-“ He begun to argue, suddenly pausing mouth still agape. Phin slowly closed his lips and stared silently for a moment, pressing a small hand to his face.

“There was a magician who came to audition last night. I was tired, I may have made fun of him. He called me a five-year-old and then said I’d pay for disrespecting him.” He managed out weakly, almost offended at the words coming out of his mouth. He couldn’t really believe that ridiculous man in the cloak did this to him? Magic wasn’t real, just trickery meant for the stage.

But this was a fairly unexplainable situation. Too unbelievable to be a coincidence, surely.

“You should never disrespect a wizard, Daddy!” Helen scolded firmly, small hands moving to her hips.

“Stop calling this little boy your father. Your father is obviously hiding somewhere in the house playing a ridiculous joke and he’s going to be sleeping on the sofa for a month when I find him.” Charity scolded gently, returning to the room with a tray of four mugs, carefully handing them to each of the girls and then holding one out for Phin. “Can you hold this all by yourself? What’s your name?” she asked him, voice soft as if she was talking to a newborn.

Phin screwed up his nose a little in irritation and took the cup in both hands, a little taken back by how big it felt. Only yesterday he’s held this same cup with a few fingers.

“My name’s Phineas, I’m your husband.” He grumbled, looking at her in disapproval.

The woman frowned, taking her own cup and sitting down carefully. “Listen sweetie, I don’t know what my husband is paying you to play this joke, but the prank is over and we need to get you home to your mother. What’s your real name? Where are your mother and father?”

“Mommy, it really is daddy. He knows things only daddy would know.” Helen cut in softly, holding her hands up to defend the boy.

“Chairy.” Phin murmured defeatedly, her full name proving too much of a mouthful for his small mouth. “It really is me. This isn’t a joke. I don’t know what’s happening, but it’s me. Your husband. I promise.” He tried desperately, stopping for a moment to sip at his hot chocolate. It was sweet and smooth and tasted like home, it grounded him.

When she narrowed her eyes at him in disbelief and opened her mouth to speak, he cut her off.

“I know that your favourite food is lemon-poppy seed cake and that whenever I bake it for you I put too much icing on top but you never say anything because you appreciate the gift but I can see it in your eyes that it’s too sweet and you scrape some of it off when I’m not looking.” The boy spoke breathlessly, eyes watching her pleadingly. “I know that you love that I can bake and yet you’d never tell anyone about it because it’s not considered a masculine skill in higher society and it would be frowned upon.”

Charity’s lips pressed into a thin line thoughtfully for a moment before she put her mug down, too shaken to trust herself to hold it.

“The only reason I’d never tell anyone is because I know how easily embarrassed you get. I told Lettie that you were perfectly capable of sewing your own jacket back up once and when she giggled at you, you got all in a huff for a week.” The woman declared firmly. “If I didn’t think you’d throw a hissy fit about it, I’d tell everyone I knew that my talented husband bakes cakes for me.”

“Chairy…” The boy whispered, so relieved to hear her call him her husband.

“How did this happen, Phin? What’s going on?”

“Daddy made a wizard angry!” Helen cut in again, crawling into her mothers lap.

“Did he now?” She asked gently, running a soft hand through her daughters hair and letting her eyes settle on the small boy in front of her.

“I really don’t know what’s happening.” Phin answered carefully, he sipped at his warm drink again. The boy would have put it down but the coffee table suddenly felt very far away. “There was a magician auditioning yesterday, I might have been a little…unkind. Then he man threatened to make me pay for ‘acting childish’”

“You seriously expect me to believe that a magician turned you into…this?” The woman asked in disbelief. 

“I know how it seems right now, but it’s the best explanation I can come up with. What else could have caused this?” He argued desperately, gesturing to his new tiny form.

There was a moment of silence as the woman tried to think of a response, clearly as confused and shaken as him. She pressed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. Helen wrapped her arms around her distressed mother. Caroline politely took the cup from Phin, clearly sensing that he had no-where to put it down. He gave her a nod in thank-you.

“What do we do now, then?” Charity finally asked weakly, at a loss for words.

“As soon as morning comes, I need to get to the Circus and see if Phillip has any details on this man. He usually keeps a list of names and whatnot of auditions, maybe he’ll have some idea of who this man was.” Phin replied urgently. “If he really did do this to me, I need to find him and make him un-do it.”

The woman took a deep breath, trying to ground herself with all of the new information. She watched the small boy in front of her, with his familiar dark eyes and curled locks of hair, her eyes softened. “You’ll need some clothes first.”

She turned to Caroline. “Take your sister next door to Mrs Moores’ house. Her son just turned seven, ask her if he has any clothes he’s grown out of that we can borrow.” She instructed carefully, then turning back to meet eyes with the young boy. “You can’t get to the circus alone, not like this. After I drop the girls off at school in the morning I’ll escort you there.” She insisted.

“I really hope you’re right about this, Phin.”


	2. Wingleader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who knew being a few feet shorter would cause so many problems both at home and at the Circus? Phineas Taylor Barnum can only hope that there's a way to break this bizarre (and somewhat adorable) curse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Motivation is a distant memory and so is self confidence. Please enjoy some unedited word vomit, on the house. My treat.
> 
> Please do leave comments, I am dying a slow writers death right now. Save an innocent author, donate a comment today.
> 
> Chpt 1 Word Count: 3656  
> TW: Slightly distressed child. Elephants. ??. I don't think there are any for this but let me know if you want something tagged.

“I am NOT wearing a diaper. C’mon the carriage is waiting, I need to get to the Circus, we don’t have TIME for this.”

“Phineas Taylor Barnum, I am not letting you go to work without underwear. Mrs Moore didn’t lend us any undergarments and Helen’s old cloth diapers are all we have in the house that are going to fit you.” Charity insisted exasperatedly, trying to hand him the square of cloth for the fifth time. “No-one’s going to notice. I don’t like this situation any more than you do but we’d already be on the road by now if you’d just co-operate.”

Phin screwed up his nose and growled in irritation, he knew when his wife called him by his full name that she was at the end of her tether. There was no use trying to argue while he was in this situation anyway, even if he really, REALLY, hated the outcome.

“You will never EVER tell anyone about this, e v e r.” He insisted in defeat, snatching the item from her and grabbing the pile of children’s clothes the kindly neighbour had given over, thankfully without too many questions. 

“Do you need help dressing yourself?”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT.”

“There’s no need to shout, Phin.”

\--

The carriage ride felt far too long. He was sure it wasn’t usually this long a trip.

Phin had shifted several times in the uncomfortable wooden seat, every now and then standing up to peer out at the scenery moving past out the window. With every passing moment his confidence fizzled away as he thought about having to walk into the Circus like…this. The shirt, pants and suspenders he had were just a tiny bit too big, obviously he didn’t have a suitably sized jacket or hat. He certainly wasn’t dressed for the show.

The whole situation was bizarre and frankly, humiliating. If this was a horrible nightmare, he really wished it was time to wake up.

“How much longer? Why aren’t we there yet?” The boy grumbled impatiently, tapping a small finger against his knee in irritation as he once again shifted to his feet to watch the window. “This is taking forever. Is there traffic?”

“We’ve only been traveling for a few minutes.” Charity replied smoothly, turning the page of her book and hoping the words would whisk her away from the shock of the current situation. “Settle down, Phin. Find something to entertain yourself with.”

The boy clonked his head back against the seat with a groan of irritation, looking around to try to find something to do to take his mind away from how he was going to explain this to the troupe when they arrived. His search was cut short when a voice came from the front of the carriage.

“Who’s the young lad, Mrs Barnum? I thought you had two daughters.” The driver asked politely, curiosity clearly getting the better of him.

Phin narrowed his eyes but before he could open his mouth to speak, Charity had cut him off.

“The neighbors boy, I’m watching him while his mother is under the weather. Thought I’d take him along to the circus to cheer him up.” She replied, not even lifting her eyes away from the pages.

Phin gave her a hurt look, which went unnoticed, then slumped back in his seat in a sulk. Was she ashamed of him? Embarrassed of who he was? It was bad enough being stuck in this ridiculous state, his own wife refusing to admit who he was added salt to the wound.

“So kind of you m’am. I hope the little fella enjoys his trip.” The man chuckled softly, “You be a good boy for Mrs Barnum won’t you, sweetie pie?”

“Fuck off.”

“PHINEAS!”

\--  
After a carriage ride which felt like it took forever, they finally pulled up at the entrance to the Circus. Phin couldn’t help but hold onto Charity’s dress with one tiny hand to keep up with her fast pace. 

Every step closer to the door set off his nerves and his feel began to shuffle rather than walk, eventually stopping dead and tugging on her dress. 

“Phin, what’s wrong?” She asked as gently as she could manage with the exhaustion in her voice. Turning and kneeling down to his new height, something she would never not find strange.

The boy looked up at her with an almost unreadable expression, though embarrassment was clear in his posture. “I….I can’t go in there like this. How am I going to explain this?” He almost whispered, biting his lip a little in worry. “If I don’t even know what’s happening then how can I convince them it’s me?”

The woman sighed quietly, reaching out a slender hand to run through his curled locks. They were so soft, definitely her Phin’s. Oh goodness, what had her husband gotten himself into?

“What happened to my brave fearless husband who could walk into any job and ask for a promotion, who could charge into fatherhood without a worry in his eye, who could risk everything for his dreams?” She whispered encouragingly, moving her hands to tighten his little suspenders and dust down his shoulders. “You can walk in there Phin. You’re still their ringmaster, still their friend.”

The boy’s lip quivered just a tiny bit but he forced them to still and breathed a sigh, nodding his head hesitantly. “Okay.”

“I’ll do my best to help you explain. You’re not alone, Phin.”

\--

Explaining the situation had indeed not been easy.

It had taken the both of them over an hour to convince Lettie and Charles in the main ring that this child was in fact P.T. Barnum. Charles still seemed in disbelief and the both of them just thought it was some kind of hilarious prank. It was the stressed out look in Charity’s overtired eyes which eventually stopped their cackles and prompted them to find Phillip.  
Phillip was already in his office. He’d never been much of a morning person but he prided himself on always getting to work on time. He sipped from a cup of lukewarm coffee and wished its effects would kick in a little quicker. Half wondering where P.T. was and half letting it slide because the man had a habit of getting distracted.

When the door crashed open and a bewildered looking Lettie stumbled in unannounced, followed by Charles, Charity, and a random little kid, it almost made him jump out of his skin and coffee splashed down his jacket. He sighed through his nose, rubbing his temples quietly and forcing a quick smile as he placed the now empty mug on his desk. 

“Guys. Knocking. It’s a thing.”

“Phillip we got a really weird situation and since I guess you’re in charge around here now, we need you to help.” Charity insisted gently, squeezing past the bearded lady and leading the small boy over by his hand.

Phin tried his best not to look humiliated as he stared up at Phillip who suddenly looked far too tall. He put his hands behind his back politely and cleared his throat. “F’lip.”

The man squinted tiredly, watching the child before him in confusion before his eyes flicked back to the woman. “Mrs Barnum, sorry if I’m missing something but who’s the child? What do you mean ‘now that I’m in charge’? Where’s P.T.?”

“I’m getting pretty sick of expuh’laining this story.” Phin grumbled, nervously playing with his suspenders. “Remember that magician hack yesterday who said I’d regret acting childish? Well, I regret acting childish. I need you to help me find him so I can knock his head off.”

Phillip stared for a moment, then sitting down and chuckling. His eyes rolled as he twisted back around in his chair to get back to work. “Alright alright. Very funny, you almost had me.” He snorted, shaking his head just a little. “Making fun of me for telling you not to be rude to the magician, I get it. It’s not that I really thought he was a magician, it’s just not polite to be rude to the acts. You really outdid yourself on this prank though, actually finding a little kid who looks just like you is impressive.”

Charity ran a hand back through her hair and sighed through her nose, wandering over past the now fuming little boy and sitting herself on the edge of Phillip’s desk. “Phillip. We need your help.” She insisted very seriously. When he met her eyes they were full of worry and it almost made him scoot back in his seat.

“You can’t expect me to really believe that this little kid is P.T….”

“He knows all of our names, our birthdays, even our clothing sizes.” Charles piped in awkwardly, poking his head around the side of Lettie’s dress.

“He knows about the time you scraped your knees up trying to do a knee slide and cried for twenty minutes. Only me, you and Barnum were in the tent that day and you know neither of us would tell a soul.” Lettie murmured softly, eyes meeting with the ringmaster. “Well…I guess Charles and Charity know now too but usually neither of us would tell a soul.”

Phillip winced awkwardly, scratching behind his ear a little and making hesitant eye contact with the small child again. 

“F’lip, It’s me. It really is me. If you don’t want to believe it then fine, but you have to tell me everything you know about this magician man. Please.” The boy begged, taking a few steps forward and staring up as firmly as he could with big round eyes.

“Help us figure out what’s going on, Phillip.” Charity prompted softly, moving a hand to touch the mans shoulder. “Also give me your jacket, that coffee is going to stain.”

“I….I think I need to lie down.” The man muttered, pressing a hand to his forehead as he stared bug eyed at the toddler before him. “P.T.?”

“F’lip, stay with us buddy.” He ushered gently, waddling forwards a few steps. 

The man swallowed thickly and gave them a small hesitant nod. Turning to rummage through papers on his desk. “He applied under the name ‘Mr Aedos Miraculous’. Sounds sort of fake but I never pressure people to give their real names. You don’t know what people have gone through. I don’t have anymore information than that, since he didn’t get past stage one of the interview.” Phillip blustered out, grabbing the list of names and scrolling through just in case. “I did bump into him later that night when I was hailing a carriage though, he asked if he could come back on Friday and try auditioning again. I told him of course, and apologized on your behalf again.”

“I CAN’T STAY LIKE THIS UNTIL FRIDAY. THAT’S FIVE DAYS AWAY.” The boy shrieked, hitting an octave he’d never heard himself hit before.

Phillip covered one ear painfully and Charity hopped off the desk to scoop her small husband into her arms, patting his back reassuringly like she’d done many times with her children. 

“Phin, it’s going to be okay.”

“IT’S NOT GOING TO BE OKAY, CHAIRY. I CAN’T STAY STUCK LIKE THIS. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO FOR FIVE DAYS?”

“There’s no need to shout.”

Lettie leaned back against the door quietly, crossing her arms as she watched the events in front of her. “This really is a weird situation. What are we gonna do, babysit Barnum for a week?”

“I DON’T NEED BABYSITTING I’M A GROWN MAN.”

“Maybe we can take it in shifts. We’ll keep him around the Circus just in case someone see’s Mr Miraculous in the mean time. Whoever isn’t performing can keep an eye on him.” Phillip offered gently.

“NO-ONE NEEDS TO KEEP AN EYE ON ME.”

“What does ‘keeping an eye on him’ involve? I ain’t changing diapers.” Charles muttered, raising his eyebrows in half amusement.

“I DON’T NEED-“ Phin snapped, unsure whether his face was flushed with anger or embarrassment anymore. “PEOPLE PLEASE. I’M STILL ME. I CAN STILL PERFORM. THIS IS MERELY A MINOR SET BACK. IF WE’RE GOING TO LIVE WITH THIS SITUATION FOR ALMOST A WEEK THEN EVERYBODY GET BACK TO WORK.”

Phillip kneeled down to his height, picking his top hat up and gently putting it on the little boys head. It was far too big and slid down over his eyes. “You need to calm down P.T. We’ll figure this out okay, deep breaths. There’s no way you can perform a show like this but if you really think you’re up to it, you can still come and practice.” 

The boy pushed the rim of the hat above his eyes so that he could glare a little at the man, trying his best to look intimidating. “I am going to come and practice. I might be stuck in this ridiculous body but I’m still your wingleader!”

The awkward pause in response that followed his words was broken by a loud snort from Lettie, who tried to cover her mouth and quickly turned and left the room so she could laugh.

Phin glared daggers at Phillip who’s lips were curled into a stiff smile to force back his own find laughter, as if daring him to say a word.

“S-orry could you…could you repeat that?” He asked quietly, lips quivering from the grin.

“Wuh- whin….wing….wh-“ The boy stumbled awkwardly, screwing up his nose as he frowned in concentration “Wh-ingleader….win….wuh….ARGHHHH! WHY IS THIS HAPPEING?” 

Through the thick muffling of giggles around the room, the boy pressed his burning face into his hands and growled. “AS SOON AS I RETURN TO MY NORMAL SIZE, YOU’RE ALL FIRED.”

\--

“Are you sure you’ll be alright to watch Phin? I really need to pick up the girls from school and I don’t think it’s good for them to be around him like this, they’re confused about the situation and I don’t know how to explain it to them.”

“We’ll be fine Mrs Barnum.” Phillip reassured gently, politely putting a reassuring hand on the woman’s arm. “We’ll see you tomorrow morning, get some rest. You look stressed.”

“Can you blame me? My husband is an infant.” She murmered, holding her head as she turned to leave.

“Chairy I’m going to be big again soon. Everything is going to be okay.” Phin called after her, pushing his too-large hat up so he could see underneath it. Watching her walk away.

“I suppose we can only hope so.”

“…Chairy…”

She turned around slightly, pausing at the tent entrance to glance at the child staring up at her with such unsureness.

“…I luf you.”

Her face softened slightly and she shook her head, whisking back over and kneeling down to embrace him in a hug. 

“Oh Phin” She whispered, “We’ll figure this out no-matter what happens.”

When she let go, Phil leaned down to put a hand on the boys shoulder. “C’mon, you wanted to practice with everyone right? Still think you can do your bit with stubby little legs?” He teased gently.  
“I don’t see why not. You do it just fine.”

Charity couldn’t suppress an amused snort at Phil’s offended expression as she left.

\--

Holding onto Phillip’s pant leg while they rushed through backstage was embarrassing, though entirely necessary in making sure he didn’t get lost in the bustle of acts and animals. Phin couldn’t help but feel his size when an elephant plodded past and almost knocked him over.

“Don’t worry about singing or anything. We’ll just practice the choreography. No offense but I don’t think you could hit your low notes in your current state.” 

“I could certainly hit the high ones.” The boy grumbled back, stumbling out of the way of a passing horse. “Where’s my cane?”

“I’m not giving you that, it’s too big for you and you might hurt yourself with it.”

“Phillip, I-!”

The boy paused as he was gently pushed under the stands, watching as Phillip gave his hat a pat down over his eyes.

“On your musical cue, same routine as last time. Sure you’re up for this?”

“Of course I am!”

“Then break a leg, okay.” Phillip grinned supportively before twisting on one foot and disappearing off to help Charles onto the horse.  
\--  
The space below the stands was dark and quiet, other than the low drumming of the musical introduction of the performance.

Phin sunk back against the tent wall quietly, glancing up at the dimly lit wooden benches above him. Suddenly he rather wanted to get out as soon as possible. He couldn’t see much and the cold tent material and musty smelling hay was making him feel unsettled. Everyone was being so silent from their places. He wished someone would make a sound, he needed to know they were still there. His tiny hands were sweating, and his lips curled into a frown.

When the music finally hit its cue the boy darted out like a bolt, possibly a moment too soon but he was just relieved to return to the light of the main ring.

The relief didn’t last long when the soft light suddenly became several blinding spotlights. Rushing to his place on the stage took longer than he anticipated with short little legs, the heat of the lights made his head hurt and glitter falling from the sky got in his hair and clothes and made him itch.

Phineas pushed on, he moved his small feet to the music, twirling his body and spreading his arms. The show must go on, he was the ringleader, the master of the Circus, King of the Ring.  
But when the four rings of fire suddenly lit up behind him, everything started to spiral.

Elephants trotted in from all sides, the aerial artists swooped overhead, Lettie burst in with her part of the song, Charles rode in on the horse. Suddenly all around him there was noise and light and bright colours, and for the first time in his adult life the man froze.

His eyes shot from place to place, taking in the huge shadows of elephants looming right to the ceiling of the tent, the smell of burning and the hot heat of the flames, loud voices all seemed to merge together, and he pressed his little hands over his ears. The magic of the Circus didn’t feel like magic anymore, it suddenly felt like a nightmare.

Before he could grasp what was happening, the boy was sitting down in the middle of the ring, anxiously looking around at everything as he gripped at the hay beneath him with his shaky little hands.

As soon as the boy had dropped to his bottom the show seemed to stop dead, Lettie was the first person to immediately stop singing and jog over, gradually followed by confused other acts stumbling around and trying to avoid the lost elephants.

“Hey, hey. You okay, Barnum?”

The boy could barely drag his eyes away from the lights and glitter to face the bearded lady looming over him. Her face looked so blurry. Was he crying? The little drips of warmth on his cheeks told him yes despite him not entirely understanding why. He rubbed at the tears frantically with one hand and took a deep breath, pushing himself to his feet.

“….Fine…..m’fi…I’m fine.” He murmured softly, clearing his throat a little in slight discomfort at his high pitched little voice. “Sorry I don’t know what happ…I don’t think I can.”  
The little boy shook his head fiercely to ground himself, forcing himself to meet eyes with the woman. “…Phillip should take over. I’m not fit to do the show like this.”

The words seemed to surprise the woman who’s eyes narrowed in concern. Still, she leaned down and scooped him up with ease, carrying him over to the stands like a little puppy in her arms. “Well just, take it easy okay. Maybe you can just keep an eye on things from over here, shout us over if you need anything.”

Phin gave a small embarrassed grunt but didn’t put up much of a fight as he was indignantly carried over and plopped down on one of the wooden benches of the stands. He crossed his arms and turned his gaze to the floor instead with a scowl as the bearded lady hopped back down to regain her place in the ring.

He didn’t look up again until another bottom sat own next to him and jolted the seat.

“Don’t beat yourself up, I’d probably panic out there too if I was barely as tall as someone’s knees.” Phillip muttered gently, meeting eyes with the younger as he peeked up from under his too-large hat.

“Charles does it just fine.”

The taller man let out a snort as a faint “I heard that!” resonated from the ring.

“Listen, PT. We’ll figure all this out okay. In the meantime just, don’t push yourself too hard okay. This is new, and new takes time to adapt to.” He replied, rummaging in his pocket for a moment and pulling out a small bag of peanuts, gently putting it down next to the child. “For now just enjoy the show okay? I bet almost every five year old kid dreams of having an entire circus to themselves, you’re living the life right now.”

Before Phin could respond with a snarky remark the older man had jogged back down to start instructing everyone back to their places. In defeat he sunk back in his seat instead and shoved a whole handful of peanuts in his mouth crankily.

What must they all think of him now? What if this was an irreversible change? What would become of his family, his Circus, his famous name beloved by all?

The worry left a bitter, peanutty, taste in his mouth as he unenthusiastically watched the performance begin once more.


End file.
